Jovan Belcher killings spark debates about concussions and gun control

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher apparently killed his girlfriend and then himself, leading NBC presenter Bob Costas to talk about gun control and debates about whether head injuries played a part

The Kansas City Chiefs observe a moment of silence following the murder-suicide of teammate Jovan Belcher. Photograph: Dave Kaup/Reuters

Since the deaths of NFL linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins we have learnt that the Kansas City Chiefs player was responsible for both fatalities, reported by police to have shot Perkins at their family home before driving to the team's practice facility and taking his own life in front of the head coach Romeo Crennel, defensive co-ordinator Gary Gibbs and general manager Scott Pioli.

We have also learnt a little about how people react to such a tragedy. The Chiefs' players were, according to the team owner Clark Hunt, unanimous in their decision that Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers should go ahead as scheduled. On an afternoon of powerful and conflicting emotions at Arrowhead Stadium, they proceeded to play their best game of the season.

What we do not yet know – and may never fully understand – is what caused an apparently happy and successful young man to go through with such actions. From the outside Belcher had appeared to be the classic NFL success story: an undersized overachiever whose work ethic and love of the game had allowed him to fulfil his dream of playing in the league.

Undrafted out of the University of Maine in 2009, Belcher had won a spot on the Chiefs' roster by virtue of special teams play but subsequently became a starter at linebacker. Within a year Pioli was describing him to Sports Illustrated's Peter King as the sort of player he would like to build his franchise around. This past offseason Belcher had been rewarded with a new one-year, $1.9m contract.

Although introverted by nature, Belcher was also understood to be popular with his team-mates. That he was grateful for his career would appear to be supported by his final acts. Before taking his own life Belcher reportedly thanked Pioli, Gibbs and Crennel for the opportunities they had granted him. He had seemingly driven to the facility specifically to convey this message.

Also included in that Deadspin story was speculation from the source about the possible impact of head injuries. Awareness of the problems caused by concussions has risen steeply amid a growing body of research showing that NFL players are considerably more likely than the general population to develop mental health problems in later life. The suicides of Tennessee Titans wide receiver OJ Murdock and the former linebacker Junior Seau over the last few months have brought such discussions into sharper focus.

Hunt was quick to assert that Belcher was "a player who had not had a long concussion history", though any such claim must be taken with a pinch of salt. A poll conducted by the Sporting News last month found that more than half of players would hide concussion symptoms in order to keep playing. Furthermore, recent research has suggested that it is not just concussions but the repeated subjection to minor collisions which can be damaging.

But the reality is that these are not subjects to which we yet know the answers. The Kansas City Medical Examiner's Office was undertaking autopsies on both Belcher and Perkins's bodies on Monday, and will release a full report – to include the results of toxicology tests – only once the process is complete. That may take some time – over a month, according to USA Today – but in the meantime everything is just speculation.

In NBC's primetime Sunday night football show, presenter Bob Costas took a different tack, choosing not to focus on the personal histories of Belcher or Perkins but instead using them as the starting point for a conversation about gun control. During a 90-second piece to camera broadcast during half-time of Sunday Night Football, he cited a column by the Fox Sports Midwest writer Jason Whitlock, who had written the following earlier that day:

Our current gun culture simply ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead.

In the coming days, Belcher's actions will be analyzed through the lens of concussions and head injuries. Who knows? Maybe brain damage triggered his violent overreaction to a fight with his girlfriend. What I believe is, if he didn't possess/own a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.

Reactions to the piece were mixed, with many on social media unhappy with such a perceived political statement. The subject of gun control remains a contentious and emotive one throughout the United States, and there was disagreement over whether this was an appropriate platform on which for the debate to be raised.

Others saw an important opportunity for a discussion on a topic which is too often ignored. As the Kansas City mayor Sly James had noted on Saturday, Belcher's act was hardly an isolated one but rather "part of the tragedy of urban living in this country". Similar incidents, he noted, simply did not get the same attention when they did not involve such professional athletes.

But while the greater debate is one worth having, it would be dangerous to hang so much on an incident about which we still know so little. Two days after such tragic events, police continue to conduct their investigations and interview witnesses just as the coroner's office are carrying on their duties.

There are many questions that simply cannot be answered yet. Those who witnessed the two shootings might not yet have processed what they have seen, much less felt ready to talk about it. The most important thing for now should simply be that those involved are given time to grieve, which is what they have asked for.